As economy heals, thriftiness thrives

Oct. 22, 2013

Updated 5:23 p.m.

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Monday morning, as Erica Mendez, 24, a mother of two, was enjoying her first trip to a thrift store, her son David Quintana, 4, found what he wanted in the store's Halloween section. Mendez said she usually shops at Ross or Nordstrom Rack but was amazed at the low prices of used clothing at Savers thrift store in Anaheim. As an example she said she has paid up to $40 for designer jeans for her daughter but found DKNY jeans for $10 at Savers. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Erica Mendez, 24, a mother of two young children, said this was her first trip to a thrift store. She usually shops at Ross or Nordstrom Rack but was amazed at the low prices of used clothing at Savers thrift store in Anaheim. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A pair of women's gold "Cathy Jean" high heels were selling for $7.99 at Savers thrift store in Anaheim. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Monday afternoon, Cami Finney, 22, of Diamond Bar, shops for jeans at Savers Thrift Store in Anaheim. Finney says she shops often at thrift stores because you find clothes that you can't find in most new clothing stores. Finney says she like the clothes from the '90s and there are plenty of those at Savers. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Savers thrift store employee Matthew Zabala straightens up clothing racks in the men's section of the Anaheim store. Zabala says he shops at the store regularly , when he can afford it, but he has to let items sit on the sales racks for 48 hours before he can buy them. He said, "I see a lot of things I planned on buying go out the door but that's OK because it keeps the customers coming in." Zabala was wearing a knight's outfit from the store's Halloween section. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Vanna Mae, 22, of Tustin, paid a visit to the Savers thrift store in Anaheim looking for used winter clothing at reasonable prices. Mae said she was moving to the East Coast for a year and she couldn't afford to buy a winter wardrobe at a regular retail store. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Savers thrift store sells toys for children in addition to used clothing and household goods. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Orange Lutheran Thrift Shop is located at 676 N. Tustin St. in Orange. The store sells used clothing, electronics, appliances and furniture. ROD VEAL, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Vanna Mae, 22, of Tustin paid a visit to the Savers thrift store in Anaheim looking for used winter clothing at reasonable prices. Mae said she was moving to the East Coast for a year and couldn't afford to buy a winter wardrobe at a regular retail store. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Mary Cawthorne of Orange says she was looking for an outfit at Orange Lutheran Thrift Shop to attend a friend's concert. "They have nice outfits here," said Cawthorne, adding, "You can find something nice." ROD VEAL, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Mary Cawthorne of Orange was at Orange Lutheran Thrift Shop looking for an outfit to wear to a friend's concert. "They have nice outfits here," said Cawthorne, adding, "You can find something nice." ROD VEAL, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Elizabeth Vasquez, from left, and mom Celia, from Orange, are rung out by cashier Silvia Reyes at Orange Lutheran Thrift Shop. Cashier and volunteer of seven years Diane Smith stands by, second from right. ROD VEAL, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Monday morning, as Erica Mendez, 24, a mother of two, was enjoying her first trip to a thrift store, her son David Quintana, 4, found what he wanted in the store's Halloween section. Mendez said she usually shops at Ross or Nordstrom Rack but was amazed at the low prices of used clothing at Savers thrift store in Anaheim. As an example she said she has paid up to $40 for designer jeans for her daughter but found DKNY jeans for $10 at Savers. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

THRIFT BOOM BY THE NUMBERS

$13 billion: The value of previously owned stuff sold last year in thrift stores, consignment shops, swap meets and similar outlets, according First Research.

7 percent: The annual growth rate in the number of U.S. thrift stores and consignment shops since 2011, according to The Association of Resale Professionals.

32.4 million: The number of used cars sold in the United States through September of this year, a jump of about 4 percent from 2012, according to CNW Research.

Maria Garcia’s front yard sale held no theme.

Shoes, wrenches, blender, a Darth Vader mask — all were on the driveway in front of her one-story Garden Grove home.

A child’s shirt? Five bucks.

The blender? Fifteen.

Garcia, 31, began holding monthly garage sales three years ago to earn pocket money for her father who had been forced out of the workforce by illness. Times were tough in Orange County then and unemployment was at its peak.

These days, the economy has improved. Local unemployment is 6.2 percent, slightly better than the national average. Home prices are going up.

Still, for people like Garcia, the lessons about thriftiness learned during the dark times haven’t gone away. Garcia works full time. But she also does what she can to save cash, buying cheaper clothes for her kids and shopping at thrift stores for herself.

Garcia says she and her sister once were big mall shoppers.

She also says she hasn’t been to a mall in years.

With people like Garcia taking on new habits, and rappers bragging about 99 cent sheets, and entrepreneurs looking to franchise garage sales, one thing seems clear:

Thrift is chic.

“One man's trash, that's another man's come-up…”

From “Thrift Shop” by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Thrift stores are the Chia Pet of industries. Local and national experts say thrift store sales grew during the last recession – and they’ve continued to grow during the supposed recovery of the past three years.

And thrift stores are just part of a bigger trend. The Association of Resale Professionals reports that national sales in all quarters of the so-called secondhand industry – including retail categories ranging from thrift shops to high-end consignment stores – grew more than 7 percent in each of the past two years. And that number, they add, gives only a glimpse of a hard-to-measure market.

Economists who calculate gross domestic product count the value of goods only one time, the first time they’re sold. So it’s hard to gauge the true volume of America’s thrift economy.

But one industry – used cars – offers a clue about the relative popularity of used versus new.

And in Orange County, used has been hot. Sales of new cars in Orange County fell hard in 2008, the peak year of the recession, and didn’t return to prerecession levels until last year. But during that same period, used car sales grew consistently, according to the state Board of Equalization.

It’s Finance 101. When consumers have less to spend, they look for ways to get more for their money, said Esmael Adibi, an economist at Chapman University.

“A higher unemployment rate, a loss of income, means that people are going to choose things that nobody would have touched [a few years ago],” Adibi said.

But that trend is playing out even as those basic factors – jobs and income – seem to be improving.

Matthew Zabala, front supervisor for the Savers thrift store in Anaheim, said both gross sales and the number of customers walking into the store have jumped by about 20 percent in 2012. During that same period, unemployment in Orange County fell from 8.8 percent to 7.6 percent.

Officials at Goodwill of Orange County have seen something similar, saying sales at their retail outlets in Orange County have grown steadily since 2008, even as economic conditions have improved.

And the Lutheran High Thrift Shop in Orange, which helps provide scholarships for a private high school, has seen double digit sales increases in each of the past three years.

Still, it’s possible the fundamentals aren’t as rosy as the economic statistics suggest. And boom times at thrift stores might be a sign that some of the jobs created in the past few years don’t pay enough to send consumers back to the malls.

Or, for shoppers like Yvonne Varela, the jobs might not be consistent enough to keep them away from the discount rack.

Varela, 35, was laid off in 2010. Before that, she says, she wouldn’t have considered shopping in a thrift store.

“A lot of my girlfriends are single moms, too, and at first we were like ‘Oh, secondhand? That’s kinda gross,’” Varela said.

But since 2010 Varela has had a hard time finding consistent, full-time work. And, on a recent Wednesday, she was looking sifting through jeans for her 10-year-old daughter at Lutheran High Thrift.

The stigma of shopping secondhand, she said, has evaporated.

“We are addicted,” Varela said.

“… I call that getting tricked by a business…”

A couple of years ago, a friend of Yazen Haddad complained to him about the hassles of holding a garage sale.

Haddad, who also sells real estate, said decluttering is earning big bucks, and that a typical garage auction Orange County churns out about $1,500. What’s more, his buyers – consignment store owners — are eager for product.

“I see a lot of new buyers,” Haddad said. “It’s definitely a new market.”

There’s even a new twist in the thrift business.

In May, Goodwill of Orange County expanded, debuting its first boutique store, based in Tustin. The goal is to offer high-end donations to shoppers looking for high-end (but secondhand) product.

“I think we realized people are hooked,” said Corrine Allen, vice president of Goodwill of Orange County retail operations.

“…I wear your grandad’s clothes. I look incredible…”

And that might be a sign that something deeper than economics is at work – fashion.

Between the racks at Lutheran High Thrift, not everyone is struggling to get by.

“I think a lot of people if they don’t need to shop here, they still come here,” said the store’s manager, Suzanne Sotelo.

Without being prompted, Barbara Rose, from Orange, said her whole outfit was secondhand, down to the $2 pink wedges.

Rose said she’s been a “thrifter” her whole life. But, recently, she’s been copied by well-off friends. Thrift store parking lots are full, she said, sometimes with Mercedes and other high-end rides.

“It’s just a big social change, where people are very much inviting that idea to recycle,” said Savers’ front manager Zabala.

“It’s really amazing when you have customers come in, and they completely love the thrift store. They come three to four times a week and spend $40 to $50 each week.”

Savers’ shopper Lauren Zakich agreed, saying even her boyfriend – who once had to be dragged to a thrift store – has become an eager customer.

“Even though I have some friends who (still) say thrifting is gross, I think it has become a fad to wear things that were (previously) in style,” the 22-year-old said.

“Maybe that’s because my generation is struggling to earn money, even when we graduate from college.”

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